A few months ago I had the huge pleasure to be the instructor of the very first round of the Capturing Joy workshop, which was an amazing success!!I simply couldn't have dreamt of a better group to jump start this workshop. The students were motivated, crazy talented, helpful and awfully fun! I woke up every single morning SO excited to discover the new images produced by this fabulous group. Not only did we create hundreds of happy images together, but we also lived the most joyful experience together on a daily basis. What a treat!!

Here is a very small sample of images from the first run, just to show you how incredibly fabulous these ladies are!

I wish I could share ALL the images created during this workshop, I swear it would be the best anti-depressant ever…
A big thank you to all of these talented ladies for allowing me to share their work here. You made this first run such a special moment, I will never thank you enough for that!

If you wonder how it feels to spend 4 weeks in the Capturing Joy workshop, here are some testimonials:

"This was a fabulous class! This was my first CM workshop, and I chose this class because I was struggling in my attempts to capture emotions and connections in my portrait photography. Lisa’s PDFs have so many examples and tricks and tools to use to get those joyful moments to happen throughout a portrait session; it’s a wealth of information. I had a family session last weekend, at the end of the third week of this workshop; I had previously photographed this family three times. After showing the mom the images from the session this afternoon, she told me that after seeing the feelings and the happiness I captured in the photographs, it felt like it was Mother’s Day to her — my most memorable compliment yet! Awesome class — I cannot recommend it enough!" (Sheila Clapperton)

"When I saw Capturing Joy in the class list last year, I knew I would sign up. I loved Lisa’s style and knew from her helpful tutorials and posts on the forum that she would be a fantastic instructor. In addition, I have been struggling with capturing my own kids. My four-year-old daughter was actively resisting having her picture taken, even if I was encouraging her to ignore me (which made styled shoots all but impossible).
Lisa did not disappoint. It was a shooting workshop, but also so much more. We studied the technical and creative side of capturing joyful photos, but the part that made the difference for me was the philosophy of interaction she taught, as well as loads of ideas and examples. It has revolutionized how I capture my own kids and how I work with clients. I wanted to get everything I could from the course, and it was so valuable to take it full participation and have Lisa’s feedback and that of the teaching assistants. The group was especially active and supportive, and it really was a pleasure to check the forum every day to see what was going on.
My older daughter is not running from the camera anymore. She’s even coming up with ideas of her own and tolerating my big camera and Instagram shots. That alone may make the investment worthwhile." (Kristy Harrison)

"This was such a FUN class! My children have voted this the best class CM has to offer, since they had so much fun with it. It was perfect for the winter photographic slump. I highly recommend anyone taking it who is finding their photography in a rut, or who wants to have the push to take lots and lots of fun photos with their children!" (Carri Peterson)

"This course is a winner! If you’re looking to infuse some love and laughter into your work, this is the course to take. Lisa is a very encouraging instructor. She provides thorough feedback and is always available to students even between assignments. The course materials are full of information. Not just theories but effective ideas ready to be put into practice. I have nothing but high praise for this course and Lisa as a teacher." (Meg)